Diaz (full name Andres Rafael Diaz) is a rapper from

Jessheim Jessheim is a town in the Ullensaker municipality in Akershus of Norway. History The railway station with the Jessheim station was built in 1854 as part of the Hovedbanen line from Oslo to Eidsvoll. The railroad had at the initial construction o ...

, Norway, born 26 July 1976. His father, Andres Rafael Diaz Rosa, is Spanish and his mother, Inger, is Norwegian. He has released three solo albums: ''2050'',''Velkommen Hjem, Andres'' (Welcome Home, Andres) and ''Jessheimfanden'', all paying homage to his hometown of

, which lies some 40 km N/NE of Norway's capital,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, close to the city's airport,

Gardermoen Oslo Airport ( no, Oslo lufthavn; ), alternatively referred to as Oslo Gardermoen Airport or simply Gardermoen, is the international airport serving Oslo, Norway, the capital and most populous city in the country. A hub for Flyr, Norse Atlan ...

. ''2050'' is the postal code for Jessheim. ''Velkommen Hjem, Andres'' is a reference to the Norwegian film ''Velkommen Hjem, Anders'' which was filmed in 1985 in Jessheim with a cast of local actors. In addition to this he has collaborated on numerous singles and albums by artists like

Warlocks A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives ''warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicatio ...

Opaque Opacity or opaque may refer to: * Impediments to (especially, visible) light: ** Opacities, absorption coefficients ** Opacity (optics), property or degree of blocking the transmission of light * Metaphors derived from literal optics: ** In lingui ...

Tommy Tee Tommy Flåten (born 18 December 1971), best known by his stage name Tommy Tee, is a Norwegian record producer, rapper, broadcaster, record executive, concert promoter and magazine publisher. He is known as the godfather of Norwegian hip hop. Tee ...

and Wu-Tang Clan's

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

. The album ''Velkommen Hjem Andres'' includes the song "Mitt Terningkast" made in collaboration with Diaz's childhood friends

Shagrath Stian Tomt Thoresen (born 18 November 1976),Shagrath
at Encyclopaedia Metallum known professiona ...

and

Galder Tom Rune Andersen (born 18 October 1976), also known by his stage name Galder, is a Norwegian guitarist and vocalist. He is from the small town of Jessheim, north of Oslo. He is a founding member of the melodic black metal band Old Man's Child ...

of the

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren. History ...

band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

. The song "Hats Off to Aruto", a tribute to another childhood friend, was briefly popular in the United States. Diaz started working as a DJ when he was 13, and has worked as a presenter on Norwegian Channel 24. He also used to run a record shop in Oslo,

T&D Records {{disambiguation T&D may refer to: * T&D Holdings, a Japanese insurance company * T+D, a magazine of the American Society for Training & Development * T&D Industries Ltd, a defunct UK firm - see Re T&D Industries plc * Tease and Denial (Erotic sexu ...

, with mentor and producer

. Tommy Tee has produced much of Diaz's work and runs

Tee Productions Tee Productions is considered to be one of Scandinavia's largest Record label production it is hip hop record label owned by Tommy Tee, located in Oslo, Norway. Its signed artists include Diaz, Opaque, Warlocks, Son of light (earlier known as N-L ...

, the record label that publishes albums by Diaz,

Gatas Parlament Gatas Parlament ( en, Parliament of the Street) is a Norwegian group of rap artists. It currently consists of artists Elling Borgersrud and Jester. The group was the first to release a hiphop-recording in their native language, Norwegian. All cur ...

and others. He also used to work as a label manager for BMG Music (Norway) and as a promoter for Universal Music (Norway). By 2003 he was one of Norway's foremost hip-hip artists. Diaz has retired from rap music although he made a comeback appearance in October 2009. He has studied business at the

Norwegian School of Management BI Norwegian Business School () is the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. BI has in total four campuses with the main one located in Oslo. The university has 845 employees consisting of an academic staff o ...

. He has worked with the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, and for the past three years, he has worked for the Norwegian Red Cross (Oslo Red Cross) with inner city youth.

References

1976 births Living people Norwegian rappers Norwegian people of Spanish descent People from Jessheim {{Norway-musician-stub